November Trip Reports

[bama_ed]

we were supposed to go to gulf shores but had a completely flat tire so it was a big cancel.

Well I certainly FEEL you and Bert's pain on the tire issue. I said some while putting my spare on EARLY this morning.

Hate you missed out on Gulf SP though.

Fireworks from MK just now shooting off starting a few minutes ago at 815pm.

But ya'll will be here in January, right?

Ed

 

[Boomer1]

We had more tire trouble at WDW the last two trips than ever before. We had a soft/ flat tire on our truck on the way down in March, and then three blowouts on the 5th wheel when towing it home.
My daughters and I flew down in May for a trip and can you guess, had a flat tire on our rental vehicle.
With this in mind Tom was the happy recipient of a tire pressure monitoring system for our motorhome for his birthday in November. Hoping this will help end our tire problems on Florida trips in January!

 

[JP6972]

Was 82 when we left Friday. Just made it home today about 8.30pm. 31 and about an inch of snow on the ground. We saw snow on the sides of the road but none on the road thank goodness as we got close to home.

2400 miles round trip.


Couple souvenirs

New pin for the wifes coke collection


And a bottle of Disney wine.

Been home long enough to start thinking about the next trip. Hopefully with out the Hurricane next time.

 

[bama_ed]

7.6 miles per gallon on your trip? OMG!

Glad you made it home. Sorry I missed you.

Bama Ed

 

[JP6972]

Yeh the mileage was not good this trip. We stared out with big head winds on the way down for the first 600 miles or so. Then just couldn't keep it under 70 the closer we were getting to Florida and the Fort. Truck had a mind of it's own. Lol kind of the same thing on the way home. The Mountains just dont help either.

Usually if I can keep it around 60 -65 and not much wind can squeeze out 8.5 to 9.

 

[garneska]

But ya'll will be here in January, right?

yes. Coming down for marathon but staying at the swan. Then bringing the rig and Whisky Jan 28 for two weeks. This assumes we can get a few things fixed before then. I am going to call my service guy this morning.

 

[bjschil]

Sadly, we had to leave the Fort two days early, as a brother in law passed away. We will be back. Disney does it best. Relocated for the hurricane, then back to the Fort. We had a great time, and will be back.

 

[bama_ed]

No call about the tire yet so it's time for an update after lunch.

First boat came in just before 630am. Unbeknownst to me, the MK opened at 8am because it's a MVMCP day so regular closing is at 6pm. Thus Early Entry for resort guests was 730am-8am. So the boat left just after 630am to get you to the MK gate just before 7am which is when they opened the gate and let you mosey up Main Street and start the queue for EE.



But I heard some commotion on the beach about 615am and ambled down there to check it out.

Cast Member Canoe Races. You heard me right - canoe races.

Teams were arriving for the multiple races this morning. Of course things were running behind schedule before they ever started. But departmental/locational/attractional teams are formed for fun and frivolity. It's probably authorized as a team building exercise. When I showed up there were 4 teams there some with blue shirts, some with red shirts, and others just there.



The canoes (4) were docked and the race would take place down to the right side of Bay Lake to avoid boat traffic I guess.



Do these canoes normally reside at the Poly marina? I dunno.

The team in red tshirts went through some pretty organized stretching drills.



Eight races were going to be run this morning. Sunrise was at 645am but the first race didn't start till 20 minutes after that. Way late. But there were some pretty clever team names.



Not to be outdone, the blue tshirt team in their sailors caps went through rowing drills (without paddles) led by the short fella in the captains cap in the middle. All very serious.



Close up of the canoes. A Mickey, a Donald, a Pluto, and a Goofy.



Life jackets were laid out for use before getting in position.



Finally it was time to get the paddles ....



... and walk out on the pier, get a life vest on, and get into the canoes.



Let's roll to the next post.

Bama Ed

PS - Mayhem is coming up ......

 

[bama_ed]

All loaded in the canoes but for some reason the red Mickey one had been tied up bow first so we had to wait while red Mickey pushed back and got turned around.



And everyone got closer together so they would all have the same approximate starting point/line.



I think it was a one-way race to a buoy way out to the right hidden behind the cattails.

The start meant a flurry of strokes to get moving from a dead stop.



It quickly became clear two teams sorta knew what they were doing and the other two ... well .... didn't. Much to the enjoyment of the teams viewing this first race of the morning from the beach.



Our two wayward teams had too much row power on the right and not enough on the left so they started to veer left rather than continue straight.



The two teams on the right side of the previous picture (Mickey and Goofy) were in a fierce competition and travelling (mostly) in a straight line.

The two crooked teams (Donald and Pluto) finally got themselves turned in the right direction and tried to row straight again but the gap was widening.



I don't know if Mickey or Goofy won but they all came back to the pier at a leisurely pace. Teams were arriving from behind the Trails End Game Room so they were probably bussed in in waves based on their anticipated start times but like I said, the schedule was backed up so there was a crowd on the beach to watch.





I did not stay to see the other races this morning but did hear that this event is a multi-day event so there should be more races tomorrow morning. Don't know if this is true or not but I will check it out. The sun was almost up over the cypress trees when I left.



Did buy my first ever refillable mug since I'm here for a little over 2 weeks and I'll never be as close as I am now to a refill machine with this much down time (at least this week anyway).



It was a choice of either this cup or a darker, blue gray 50th cup. You can get the yellow lid with the blue Mickey flapper or a blue lid with a yellow flapper. You can mix and match from the two cups and two lids. $21 plus tax (about $23.50).

We went grocery shopping at the WalMart on 192 so we should be good for groceries for a few days.

Ciao!

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Settlement TP has the super fast "Disney-Guest" wifi network i wrote about in the October 2022 trip report.

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

We've heard about the CM canoe races before. They used to have them in the Magic Kingdom going around Tom Sawyer Island. So glad they moved it to the Fort. It seems to fit better there.

Thank you for sharing and look forward to your update!

 

[bama_ed]

Last update for today:

Stayed around the campsite today because I was told yesterday my tire could be delivered to the Car Care Center any time between 1030am and 1pm. So after grocery shopping and lunch we hung close by. At 130pm with no call, I did a checkin and truck was on its way but late. At 217pm the call came in, "We got it, come on over".

They got it all swapped over and everything tucked away in 30 minutes. Was out of there at 310pm. Shout out to Patrick from Dothan, AL in the Car Care Center for his assistance in this matter both days.



Back at the campsite, we had put out a stuffed Mickey and Minnie that my parents had given me recently. They make a great center piece on the table most visible from the sidewalk and I heard a family tonight comment on them from the horse carriage ride as it went by.



After getting back from the Car Care Center, it was such a beautiful day all I wanted to do was sit outside with DW. We had some time before starting dinner so it was time to pull out the puzzle and start my most relaxing activity while camping.



If you are familiar with my Gulf State Park trip reports, you know I like to sit outside in good weather and assemble 500-1,000 piece puzzles. It occupies my mind, if you will. This puzzle was one of the first of mine to work which was given to us by a DIS friend. It was time to assemble it again.

This is the puzzle we are doing: a 750-piece 18x24 WDW one.



Per tradition, my first step is to separate edge pieces from non-edge, assemble the edges, then piece together any easy obvious big items. Done, done, and done.



Lastly, for yucks this afternoon I ran the wifi (network) speed test on my plain ol' AT&T service on cellular 4G data. Would you believe it is approximately 4X faster than the camper wifi download?



But camper wifi is free so that's okay, right?
Wait, you mean the cost is built into my site rate?
Since it's free, it's not worth what I'm paying for it?
Not streaming anything, just posting on the DIS, checking the 'net, and reading email.

At least I have a big honkin' data plan with hot spot feature if need be.

Tomorrow will hopefully include another transportation journey not attempted by us in the past. But will include familiar hot spots.

Bama Ed

PS - when the kids show up this weekend I probably will not be able to post as much/as often since I am the chief cook, bottle washer, and social planner. But I will do my best because I know pix and a brief storyline is what makes the DIS Camping Board go 'round.

PPS - Horse "Prince" and his humans have been by a few times tonight thus far but not working as hard as last night.

 

[tigger92662]

Some of the canoe team names are pretty funny

 

[Brocktoon]

Well DW has started a short nap so I have time to give the update for today.

We left out of Lake Louisa State Park and my leaking tire, which I had nursed along with the occasional air infusion from the pump I carry, decided to just open up and let all the air out on the way to WDW on Hwy 192 about 530am on the roll out this morning. I had no alternative but to put on the spare. which i had desperately been trying to avoid till I got to the Fort. But there was a TJ Maxx shopping center with an empty well lit parking lot on the way so I pulled in, dropped the trailer off, dropped the spare, put it on, threw the bad tire in the back of the Yukon, and got to the Fort at 7am.

Here is the bad patch on the tire that had worn slap out.



Got to the Fort and none of my three requested sites were going to be available today. So I took what I could get and made plans with the CM to transfer to one of my favorites a couple days out when the current occupant left. I needed a Preferred site that was long and normal width or medium length and open/wide.

During the wait for a site I admit I snuck down to 100 (a "few times" ) and circled slowly stalking those preparing to leave as I did not know the site I had been given. I also rolled over to the Disney Car Care Center next to the MK Parking Lot to line up a new tire to replace the flat which will happen tomorrow afternoon.

About 1130am the text came and it was an interior site in 100. Since DW and I will be the only ones here this week, we could do a minimal set up then when we move to the longer site (which had already been arranged, do the full set up (kid's tents, 2nd EZ up, etc.) but still, not looking forward to the move. Got down to our site and would have taken it ..... if I did not see two exterior sites across from me EMPTY and looking like they were calling my name.

So I called the Front Desk (actually back office of the Fort checkin office) and told the lady honestly where my head was. As it turned out, one of the empty ones I saw across the 100 road was available so I had her swap me over. It is medium length but cleared wide enough to suit our needs. She said I could just take it now so I looped around 100 one more time and backed into site 114.



That's me on the right side. Site 114 is on one side of the sidewalk that cuts through 100 to the Settlement Trading Post. Site 116 (empty) is on the other side of the sidewalk (a trailer's back faces the sidewalk) which we have stayed in on a past trip and loved the proximity to Trails End, the Settlement area, and the boat dock. But 114 has the trailer door side facing the sidewalk and the view of the circle where the food trucks post up, the playground, the music from the Trails End porch, and the mens/womens restrooms on my end of the Settlement Trading Post. Here is the view off the back of my site.



Here is the view from the back of my site on the sidewalk toward Bay Lake.



Turning around and looking back at my site, this is us.



And a little bit of a closeup.



After setup, we put the two EZ Ups in parallel with the Aliner and TV on the door side which is nice to aid in the people watching activities. It was a little humid with some clouds and scattered showers off and on but nothing too heavy. We are leaving the gravel tent pad empty for now but will set up the canvas wall tents for the kids later this week.



View off the back as the sun sets and kids play on the Settlement playground and I can hear the porch music and all the boat whistles coming and going. Can't wait for the EWP music tonight.



We walked around to 200 to find @Brocktoon but the site was empty so we looped back to our site when lo and behold @Brocktoon and family were coming up the sidewalk and saw my Aliner and Bama EZ ups and introduced themselves. Very nice people.

I ran the obligatory wifi speed test on "Guest Wifi (Disney)" and it is the same hum drum network speeds I wrote about in the October 2022 trip report. Not a whiff of the much faster public space network "Disney-Guest" from Settlement TP or Trails End at my campsite.



Gonna cook some Aldi steaks on the Blackstone for dinner with some microwaved mashed spuds, nuke some veggies, and a Cabernet to savor while we soak up the sights and sounds of Loop 100 and Site 114.

Bama Ed

Great to meet Ed and his wife! You can't miss the site, as you've got a prime spot and we go past it anytime we're heading towards Pioneer Hall or the docks.

The Wifi can get even worse as evening rolls around and more guests fill up the Settlement area. I was only pulling ~ 2-3 Mbps down. My AT&T cell service is pretty fast at the Fort though. I can regularly get ~ 60 - 100 Mbps.

It looked like the Fort staff may have been spraying for mosquitoes. Don't know if was at our campsite or in the parks but my legs got eaten alive yesterday. Never really had that happen before in WDW, but could be all the standing water from Nicole.

 

[bama_ed]

It looked like the Fort staff may have been spraying for mosquitoes. Don't know if was at our campsite or in the parks but my legs got eaten alive yesterday. Never really had that happen before in WDW, but could be all the standing water from Nicole.

Great to meet you too, @Brocktoon.

DW is getting bitten a lot this trip and me not so much.

The only bad thing so far about this site being so close to the Settlement TP, TE, and the dock is that when the canoe race crew arrives every morning to set up for the day's races (as they did today too), they park on my side of the TP and talk in loud voices for 530am in the morning.

But heck, I'm usually half awake by then anyway.

Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Today was a full day with a new tire! Yea!

This morning there were more canoe races down at the beach. Looked like same team names on the schedule so I don't know the format of the event. But they are all up early.





I didn't hang around for long.

The trees with the Spanish Moss are impressive this morning down by the Settlement TP.





This morning we went to a church service then came back and worked the puzzle some more before lunch. DW was a BIG help. Here was the progress after about an hour.



Today I did one thing I learned from @tiggerdad after watching him camp at Gulf State Park for our DISMeets. He always carried a blower and blew his campsite/pad clean just about every day. I brought my blower and there was DEFINITELY a need so I plugged in:



And went to work. Here is the "Before" pic:



And here is the "After" pic:



After lunch it was time to set off on our little journey around property using Disney transportation. We left out from the Settlement Bus Depot to ride up to the Outpost Bus Depot.





Rolling to the next post.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

There were 3 of us getting off at the Outpost Bus Depot.



We didn't have to wait long for a bus to take us to Disney Springs. All our transportation connections today were pretty timely.



The Christmas afficionado readers amongst us will be glad to know that Disney Springs has some Christmas Decorations up. Garlands strung, a tree here and there, and holiday songs playing in the background loops.





The balloon ride was working today.



The line for Gideon's Bakehouse was its usual long self.



Sadly, Raglan Road's outdoor beer station was not serving so I went to Plan B.



It was my second time here (first was with my dad on a past trip). It is small inside but had a good bit of Christmas garland up inside.



I had an adult beverage and DW some ice water and when leaving went by The Boathouse where another Amphicar was about to set off with more paying passengers.



Walked through World of Disney. Meh.

The Marketplace Co-op which usually has new "throwback" stuff was a little plain this time. Disappointing. At the Once Upon a Toy Story (toy store), Santa was posing for pics.



Let's roll on.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

At the Christmas Store, they had a nice Country Bears tree ornament for $30. I passed but alerted DD who is a big CB fan (Big Al especially). She was intrigued.





We browsed through the Art of Disney store and then were ready to leave. I'd hit all my favorites.

Our plan was to boat to Port Orleans Riverside.



Captain Mike was our feisty driver to the resort. The other boat captains arriving and departing plus the host at the gate were all old guys and it seemed like they had a cool club going.



We passed the Lake Buena Vista practice putting green with a busy executive on the phone while trying to polish up his six footer-for-a-triple-bogey stroke.



Finally we made it to Riverside. I like Riverside although I've never stayed there. Ridden the boat to/from Disney Springs and seen Yeeha Bob perform a few times but I like the feel of the place. Maybe it's because I AM from the South.

After getting off the boat there were two rocking chairs available outside the lobby looking at the boat dock so we sat there for a few minutes.



There was about a 10 minute wait for a bus to the Magic Kingdom (boat from there would take us "home") but it was standing room only on the bus (which is one of the complaints I've heard about this resort. There are like 4-5 stops around the outer perimiter to pick up guests and it's often full/SRO by the time it gets to #3, #4, or #5.)

But we survived the ride. We got to MK and it was JUST after 4pm so the MVMCP people (who could enter starting at 4pm) were jamming up the entrance lines on the right hand side of the gate area.



Pretty crowded.

Main Steet Train Station looked the same as it did two weeks ago in Christmas regalia.



BTW the DIS has reports that the WDW Railroad train made a complete circuit around the park today which means it passed through the rebuilt portion by TRON. Here's hoping it enters full service again soon.

There were only about 10 of us on the boat as we pushed back from MK towards home.



And slid past the Contemporary Resort.



Let's get home in the last post for today coming up.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Tuesdays and Wednesdays Trails End restaurant is closed so those are food truck days. There were six in the Settlement circle when we got home.



A new-to-us horse Skyler is working the streeting providing carriage rides.





Not too busy tonight to be honest.

May go for a walk tomorrow morning then a special treat is in store after that before lunch.

Bama Ed

PS - did you know that on Tuesday and Wednesday when Trails End is closed, P&J's Southern Takeout food can be eaten at the Trails End sit-down tables inside? Yep. The ribbon divider that normally keeps P&J's customers away from the Trails End tables is move all the way back towards the lake where it drops down to the lower level where Crockett's Tavern is.

PPS - did you know that Cast Members at the Car Care Center get 10% discount off work there (up to $100 worth of discount total per repair/service).

PPPS - did you know that the Costume Characters ("Friend of Mickey/Minnie/Pluto" etc.) practice their stage presence during the day at Pioneer Hall (HDDR) during the morning and afternoon hours? I was refilling my mug around lunchtime and there is a sliding door next to the refill machine at P&J's that has the HDDR floor tables and stage on the other side of it. I was getting more diet Coke and I heard a voice say, "whoever wants a picture with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum can come right up" so I slid the door back a few inches and peeked through. What was seen cannot be unseen. Sorry no pics.

 

[bama_ed]

Christmas decorations went up around the Settlement area last night (the night of 11/15/22).















Just some samples. The big tree looks like a family photo spot for this trip.

More canoe races today. Whoop.

Worked on the puzzle some more this morning.



Gonna head out in about a half hour.

Bama Ed